


Awareness

by Yuna_Ueda



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Gen, Metafiction, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:26:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22296295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yuna_Ueda/pseuds/Yuna_Ueda
Summary: Just as Edelgard watches Byleth stare death in the face, the world suddenly stops and Edelgard finds herself saddled with unfamiliar memories and the distinct feeling that something is not quite right. [Contains mild spoilers for Crimson Flower/Black Eagles]
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & My Unit | Byleth, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Awareness

“Professor!!”

An urgent, anxious cry followed by a flash of blinding light. That was all that Edelgard could remember, as she witnessed the monstrous true form of the Archbishop send a beam of light screeching straight towards Byleth. Her heart raced at that moment, fear bubbling inside of her, threatening to break loose as she witnessed the one woman she trusted, more than anyone, stare right into the jaws of death.

She wanted to move so desperately; despite the chaos of the battle surrounding her, the young emperor wanted nothing more than to dive head first in, to protect her dear professor, the one who had shone such a light on her life during the past year. The only thing stopping her from doing so, just barely, was her her own ambition. Should she perish, all that she had worked for would be for naught. He dreams would be annihilated in a blinding streak of ‘holy’ light. Her feet flinched, as she held herself back, pursing her lips together as the moment came to its fateful conclusion.

But in an instant, that moment seemed to end abruptly. Her flustered heart stilled and all awareness she once had for her physical form had faded into darkness. But oddly, she could still think, although just barely. And she was somewhat aware that something was changing. She couldn’t be sure what exactly was being altered though, her limited thought processes couldn’t comprehend that in what seemed almost like a void.

_Did… I… pass out?_

She was almost sure that wasn’t the case, but it was one of the only explanations she could conjure. Such a bizarre loss of almost all sense, she could hardly think of how to explain it in such a state. But as quickly as she had lost them, suddenly, she became aware of her physical form again. Or at least, what she initially assumed was her physical form.

Following that awareness, her sight slowly began to fade in. Confusion dawned on her soon after. For more reasons than she could count, if she cared to, given the perplexing nature of her situation. Suddenly, her thoughts, her memories, were all different somehow. They sat in her mind as if they had always been there, familiar but yet, if they had always been there, why did they also feel so new to her?

As she looked around, her location was at least familiar to her, but she did not know how she got there, or why she was even in such a place at all. The stone walls, with carvings unique to that of Garreg Mach Monastery and the Church of Seiros…

_The Goddess Tower… why am I… here?_

She sifted through the timeline of her subconscious, trying to piece together why she was where she was and why this sense of bemusement had begun to plague her so suddenly. She had two sets of memories almost. In one set, her most recent memory was of seeing the professor facing down Rhea, a searing white beam hurtling towards them.

In the other set however, that moment was five years ago.

“F-Five years ago… to the day…?”

The wealth of memories inside of her head, were the sum of five years. The realisation sent her hand towards her face in shock. When she caught sight of it though, she flinched a little as she saw an unfamiliar shade of red upon it.

_Gloves…_

The more she thought about it, the more she understood. At least, understood about as much could be expected. Looking down at her body confirmed the suspicions. The changes she had felt earlier were physical in nature. She had matured in both body and mind, and her outfit was no longer the academy uniform that she had become so accustomed to, but the garb of an emperor at war. It was an outfit she was familiar with at least. But last she knew, she hadn’t yet worn it publicly.

She inhaled and closed her eyes, as she tried to calm herself. Her heart was racing as fast as her thoughts, but she knew that was only natural. She had to keep herself composed if she was going to make sense of anything.

That train of thought was suddenly broken as she heard footsteps from behind her, coming very close. A mix of confusion and authority bubbled inside of her and pushed her to call out to the approaching stranger.

“Halt! Who’s there?”

She turned, to meet the one approaching her, steeling herself for whoever it might be. She supposed it could easily have been a friend, but she was equally as prepared for it to be a foe, given their silent approach. As she soon stood eye to eye with a bright green gaze however, a gasp shot from her throat and her heart began to thump once more, although this time, not so much in panic, but pure joy.

“P-Professor…?”

Byleth, her teacher stood before her, not looking a single day older than when they had been facing down Rhea together at Garreg Mach. Edelgard pondered how it was Byleth looked the same, while she had grown and changed, in the five years she had seemingly lived in the blink of an eye. It was in those five years she had found the answer to that question, almost.

“Is it really you…? I searched everywhere and never found a single trace…”

Had, since the very moment that she had blacked out, Byleth been missing from Fódlan for five years? Edelgard only had her new memories to go on for now, it seemed. That would have to do. She felt as if she had to ask Byleth too though, to at least confirm those suspicions.

“My teacher… What have you been doing all this time? Where have you been?!”

There was a desperation and frustration to her tone, ultimately because of her unfamiliar memories urging her to do so. Her shrewd, quiet teacher simply looked to her with that calm expression she always wore and cocked her head to the side a little.

“I was… sleeping?”

Edelgard’s lips parted at the response, somewhat astounded by the casual nature and deadpan nature of Byleth’s joke. Her lips soon curled into a smile however as she let out a short chuckle, while she felt a touch of warmth build in the corners of her eyes.

“Joking? At a time like this? It’s been… five years since you disappeared! Do you have any idea how… guilty I felt? How broken…”

Edelgard stopped, as she thought about the words she was saying. She felt compelled to say them, but… something felt unnatural about it. Holding her hand to her mouth and looking down to the ground, she felt a chill run up her spine.

_What happened to me…?_

“Edelgard…? Is everything ok?”

Turning her head back up, she saw Byleth giving her a concerned, compassionate look, one she had seen very seldomly in the past. As much as she wanted to answer though, the confusion inside of her was starting to grow almost violent. It was like she had broken something inside of her mind and now she no longer knew what she was supposed to say at all. The tears that had been threating to spill before, were now streaking down her cheeks.

It was if, suddenly, she had become aware of something. That something was still unknown to her though. She didn’t know just what it was she had become aware of but, it frightened her. She wondered if she had been struck by a spell or a curse. She wondered what people would think if she even tried to explain it to them. There was only one person she knew that she trusted enough to discuss this with.

“I don’t… I don’t know. I-I think I’m just so surprised to see you… after all this time. There’s much we need to discuss, you and I…”

Byleth held out a hand towards her, offering her support. The uncertainty inside of Edelgard raged on still, but as she put her hand into Byleth’s, she knew there was a chance she could figure it all out.

As Byleth pulled her up, Edelgard leaned into her dear professor, embracing her for just a moment. Byleth slung her arms around Edelgard’s back, holding her in place. Edelgard sighed as she gathered herself for just a moment, while Byleth hummed thoughtfully, as if pondering something deeply for herself.

“I know… I know…”

**Author's Note:**

> This is just an idea that sprung into my head and I wanted to write about it. This is just the beginning of it so far, since I wanted to test the waters and see what people thought if this first. I'm certainly looking to go more in depth with this idea in the future.
> 
> I'm really interested in metanarrative stuff and things that deconstruct the fourth wall. So that is kind of my inspiration for this.
> 
> If you liked this first bit and want more, please leave a kudos or even a comment. Critique would be nice too, so long as it's constructive.
> 
> If you'd like to contact me, find me on Twitter or Deviantart.  
> Twitter: @yunaanimatus  
> Deviantart: disturbedanimatus


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